The journey was safe and sound. When I got home, it was almost time for dinner. My mother, Chen, was waiting anxiously at the gate. Her worries were put to rest when she saw me riding a yellow cow towards her.
During dinner, it was mostly the eldest aunt who asked Zhu Pingjun about his private school with great enthusiasm, such as "How is your performance in the private school?", "Did the teacher praise you?", "What did you learn in the private school?", etc. Zhu Pingjun did not disappoint her, and he also boasted about how he performed well in the private school, how he had a good relationship with his classmates, and how the teacher was nice to me and praised me because I studied hard, and how I learned to read in the private school, and I learned four words, which was too simple.
Every time Zhu Pingjun said something, my aunt's eyebrows would fly with joy.
Zhu Ping'an, who was eating a pancake with pickled vegetables, could only complain silently. He wondered what his aunt would think if she knew that Jun Ge drooled on the table on the first day of school. Of course, he would not be a bad person and point out this matter. The teacher has already punished Jun Ge. If Jun Ge knows his mistakes and can correct them, the teacher's teachings are enough. If Jun Ge is stubborn, it will be useless for him to say more, and his aunt and others will think that he is jealous of Jun Ge and made up.
All the pickled vegetables in our house are made by my grandmother. I have to say that although my grandmother is partial, the pickles she makes are absolutely amazing.
The radish strips and cucumber strips are as beautiful as jade, bright in color and delicious, sweet and sour, crispy, mellow and refreshing, with a unique flavor that makes people salivate.
Over the past few days, this dish of pickles has been Zhu Ping'an's go-to dish for rice and porridge. Without it, the food would not taste good.
"It's still more delicious to watch Zhu Ping'an eat." Aunt San couldn't help but praise Zhu Ping'an as she watched him eat and drink porridge with big mouthfuls.
"So, I was right to let Zhu'er herd cattle." The eldest aunt was in high spirits praising Zhu Pingjun, but she looked unhappy after being interrupted by the third aunt. How could the second brother's child be compared with her own child? He was just herding cattle and digging for food in the soil, but her own child was going to study hard and become the top scholar.
Mother Chen was displeased, but she couldn't get angry because her grandmother was watching her closely. So she took it out on Zhu's father. She pinched him until his teeth were gnashing.
Without mentioning what everyone did after dinner, it was only said that after dinner, Zhu Ping'an went to the cowshed with a pair of scissors in his hand like a thief. After a while, he came out happily with a small bunch of yellow cowtail hair in his hand.
Putting the scissors back in place, Zhu Ping'an cut a piece of bamboo as thick as a finger, and stuck his butt out in the water to stuff the cow's tail hair into the bamboo pole.
This job is not easy. I have to stuff the cowtail hair in, but I don't know what to use to fix it. If I touch it with my hands, it either falls off or shrinks into the bamboo pole.
"Zhu'er, stop playing with water. The water is cold at night. Go back to your room and have a rest early." After walking around the yard, the grandmother saw Zhu Ping'an playing with bamboo in the basin and thought he was just playing around.
"I understand, grandma." Zhu Ping'an agreed.
Grandma urged her again and then went back to her room.
Zhu's father came running towards the sound, and seeing his youngest son sticking his butt out playing in the water, he couldn't help but walk over to him, hold his arm with one hand and put it on his shoulder, and ride on a big horse just like a father would do when his son was a child.
Zhu Ping'an was pressing the cow's tail hair, and was suddenly scared away by Zhu's father's hug and resistance.
When Zhu's father saw that Zhu Ping'an was holding a bamboo pole and oxtail hair, he couldn't help but curiously ask why. When he found out that Zhu Ping'an wanted to make a brush, he felt guilty and amused. He felt guilty because he didn't have the ability to support his son's elementary education. He felt amused that this stupid boy actually wanted to make a brush himself. This is how a brush is made. Since he didn't have the ability to support his son's elementary education, he would just make a brush for him to play with.
After making up his mind, Zhu's father offered to make a brush for Zhu Ping'an.
Zhu Ping'an raised his little face and looked at his father, somewhat unbelieving. His father had never been to school, so how could he make a brush
"When your great uncle was a child, he needed a lot of brushes to study. I often went to the pen, ink, paper and inkstone shop to buy brushes for your great uncle. After a long time, I became familiar with the shop assistants and learned to make my own brushes, which saved some money for the family. But when your great uncle grew older, he no longer used the brushes I made. But over the years, my craft has not fallen behind." Father Zhu seemed to be reminiscing about his childhood, sighing.
During the Ming Dynasty, people only had two meals, breakfast and feeding. Breakfast was around eight o'clock and feeding was around five o'clock in the afternoon.
Zhu Ping'an went to herd cattle again after breakfast.
"Hey, why do I feel like there's something weird about our cow?" Aunt Fourth frowned and muttered to herself when Zhu Ping'an rode the old yellow cow out.
How can I not blame myself when a tuft of the cow's tail was cut off
Upon hearing this, Zhu Pingan quickly led the old ox out of the door. If Xiao Si's aunt saw him cutting the ox's tail, who knows what kind of trouble would happen.
When he went to herd cattle today, in addition to yesterday's things, Zhu Ping'an also brought a small bamboo basket that was narrow at the top and thick at the bottom, a writing brush and a black-painted wooden board the size of an A4 paper. This wooden board was found in the kitchen. Perhaps it was part of some furniture in the past. After the furniture was broken and repaired, the wooden board became useless and was thrown into the woodshed to be burned as firewood.
The brushes and wooden boards are used to practice calligraphy. Use a bamboo tube to hold some river water, dip the brush in the water, and practice calligraphy on the black lacquered wooden board for a short period of time. It can be recycled indefinitely, saving ink and paper, killing two birds with one stone.
That small bamboo basket that is narrow at the top and thick at the bottom is used for fishing. I learned this fishing method from stories told by Zhu's father last night.
It was still early, the sun was shining, and Zhu Ping'an rode his ox to the school. The ox stepped over the single-plank bridge and came to the hillside. The grass was still green, but the loli from yesterday was gone.
Zhu Ping'an now hit a bamboo tube of river water by the river, and then led the old ox to the bamboo forest halfway up the hillside. He tied the old ox to another tree and let it eat fresh grass, which would also give the grass that the ox had eaten yesterday a chance to recover.
Bring your own equipment for the class, walk through the bamboo forest, and come to the outside of the school again. Find an inconspicuous corner and sit down to attend the class.
The timing was just right. The children's morning reading had just ended, and the teacher was about to start a new day of teaching after asking a few questions to the children.